Method of producing a food product from scrap particles of hide



Patented Apr. 20, 1954 METHODOF 'PRODUCING"A FOOD' PRODUCT FROM SCRAP-PARTICLES 0F HIDE."

David'To'rr; NewiYork, N2" Yi, assig'nor to Charles J. Ely, Oakland; N.'--J.

No Drawing- ApplicationDecember 23,1950; Serial No. 202,581,

2 Claims. 1:

Thisidnvention relates to hide and has for its object.rthevconversion -of--hides into a colloidal state. The invention provides an improved processizforiconverting wasteparticle's such as trimmings and. scraps of hides into -a' colloidal state, and. ithe products resulting'- fr'om --the improved process In the meat packing plants there is a large volume of hide scraps which are processed for the production of glue and gelatin. Glue and. gelatin are very much alike chemically and physically. High grade glues are similar to gelatins and chemically both glue and gelatin are proteins. Hides and their connective tissues are important sources of collagen, a water-insoluble substance which is the mother substance of glue and gelatin. On boiling of the hides and tissue in water, the collagen breaks down by decomposition or hydrolysis to form glue or gelatin.

In accordance with the process of my invention, the scraps of hide are reduced to a suitable degree of subdivision in a preliminary operation as in a hammer mill or shredder. Usually the green hide contains enough water for the subsequent operation of disintegrating and dispersing to form a colloidal product.

The hide, after having been subdivided in the preliminary treatment, is passed through a colloidizing operation, preferably in at least two stages of colloidal disintegration in colloidal mills. It is usually advantageous to pass the material through an initial colloid mill in which the clearance between the stator and rotor is from 0.001 to 0.010 inch and then through a final mill in which the clearance is practically zero, the stator and rotor being in verticalcon- A Premier mill having a conical rotor of 4 inch diameter and rotated on a verti'califshaft at from 12,000 to 15,000 R. P. M. gives efiective results in the final stage. I prefer tousel mills having rotors and stators formed of a material such as Carborundum, synthetic sapphires, or diamonds, which have irregular surfaces, the dispersed mass being forced through the intervening tortuous passages between the crystal projections of the materials. The particles of the finished colloidal mass are reduced to such a state of fineness that they are in general below 10 microns and advantageously below 5 microns.

In the final stage a considerable amount of heat is generated and cooling may be necessary to avoid overheating of the material during disintegration. By proper regulations of the temperature during the disintegration in the colloid mill, the product may be heated as required.

The ,disintegratingzoperation is. advantageously: carried out inan inert atmosphere, such as:ni-.-- trogen .or. carbon dioxide, or..with protectionaoi': the material from the air to.avoid..oxidation..-

The. colloid mill'is thus advantageouslyprovided with an enclosed "hood or 'cover and 'With"feed"' and discharge passages 'provided withprotective covering so that the material is protected from air oxidation. Depending on the final product desired the temperature in the colloid mill may range from near freezing up to near the boiling point of water.

The heating of the material during disintegration may tend to remove more or less water therefrom and to dry out the product. This can be avoided, and a product of increased moisture content obtained when desired by admixing water with the product before or during the final disintegration to give a final product of a regulated and predetermined moisture content. Where the moisture content is around 15 to 30% the feed to the mill is advantageously a forced feed. With higher moisture content of the material, e. g., between 50 and or up to or even 200 or 300 or 500% 01' higher based on the solid content (dry basis) the gravity feed may be suflicient.

In the foregoing description of my method of producing a colloidal product, I have referred to the use of a colloid mill. A similar product, or a product of even finer particle size, can be obtained by utilizing ultrasonic equipment, or by bombardment of the particles by X-rays, ultraviolet rays, ionic rays, atomic rays and electronic bombardment or disintegration, or bombardment with gases, as in micronizing equipment, for the disintegration or for further disintegration of both the inorganic and organic components.

The colloidal operation carried out on the hides breaks down the tissues into such minute particles that the substances imprisoned in the cellular structure are exposed and made more readily available for extraction or assimilation. The relatively large molecules of the protein collagen appear. to be broken down or hydrolyzed into glue, gelatin, or both. My invention, accordingly, provides an efficient process for the conversion of constituents of the hide into glue or gelatin which may be easily recovered from the colloidal product for use as end products.

The colloidal products of the invention may be used to form various products such as coatings, sheets, and molded articles. They may be admixed with plastics, fillers or binders to form may be used directly as a liquid food high in easily assimilable protein or be' blended with other colloidal vegetable or animal products. For example, my colloidal hide product may be blended with the colloidal bone product of my application Serial No. 159,857, filed May 3;. 1950, now Patent No. 2,622,027, or the colloidal egg product of my application Serial No. 201,693, fi1ed December 19, 1950. The colloidal hide product may be added to soups, purees, and to vegetable or meat products, advantageously those preserved in cans or frozen packages, to obtain an enriched or better balanced food. The invention accordingly contemplates the provision of canned or packaged products of the invention as directly produced or as blends or admixtures with other foods.

4 I claim: 1. The method of treating scrap particles of hide which comprises reducing the hide to a state of colloidal dispersion in a colloidizing operation,

producing a product having the Brownian movement, the particles being less than 10 microns, the colloidizing operation being carried out at a temperature which hydrolyzes protein of the hide into gelatin.

' 2. The method of treating scrap particles of hide which comprises reducing the hide to a state of colloidal dispersion in a colloidizing operation, producing a product having the Brownian movement, the particles being less than 10 microns, said operation reducing the collagen to glue and gelatin, and extracting the glue and gelatin from the product.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Mitchell June 3, 1950 

1. THE METHOD OF TREATING SCRAP PARTICLES OF HIDE WHICH COMPRISES REDUCING THE HIDE TO A STATE OF COLLOIDAL DISPERSION IN A COLLOIDIZING OPERATION, PRODUCING A PRODUCT HAVING THE BROWNIAN MOVEMENT, THE PARTICLES BEING LESS THAN 10 MICRONS, THE COLLOIDIZING OPERATION BEING CARRIED OUT AT A TEMPERATURE WHICH HYDROLYZES PROTEIN OF THE HIDE INTO GELATIN. 